KATRINA

 

Blake accompanied me on my drive back to my apartment. The hospital wasn’t very far from where I lived but that didn’t stop me from enjoying his company, even if he weren’t in my car with me.

He looked as stunning as he always did as he rode. Comfortable in his seat, with the wind blowing through his slick blond hair. He was the picture of a biker so many women in Ivory pined for.

He moved right next to me and winked through the window. Thank goodness the streets were empty otherwise I would have hit something because of his distraction.

I got back to my apartment quicker than I wanted to. When I pulled up to the parking lot, Blake and two other Reapers followed closely behind me. I got out of my car and noticed the other men.

One of them was a shaggy brown-haired man who looked a little bit older than Blake. He was still just as muscular and tattooed. He had a quiet dignity about him as he sat on his bike.

The other man was significantly younger. He looked like he was barely old enough to drink. His dark blond hair was patted down on his head and his face was clean-shaven, giving him a youthful appearance you didn’t see very often in club members.

I didn’t pay much attention to them though. How could I with Blake being as distracting as he was?

Blake walked up to me with his hands in his pockets, feigning a sheepishness I’d never seen in him before.

“So…” he started.

“So… This is my apartment.”

“That’s your apartment, all right…” he sighed.

He looked into my eyes and gave me a knowing smirk. I remembered the last time he was here. How could I forget? Seeing the look on his face, he was probably remembering it just the same as me.

But I knew that it was the last time we’d be together like that. And I didn’t take much joy in it.

I had to say goodbye but before I did, I had to get something off of my chest.

“Listen,” I said. “I know.”

“You… know?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a small town. It’s tough to keep secrets here. My brother told me what’s been going on with you. How you’re insisting on going after the Spades.”

He looked away from me, confirming the truth to the rumors.

“I know you have to do something,” I sighed. “They put an innocent woman in a hospital. They tried to kill you.”

“Then you understand?”

“Just promise me something…”

“Anything.”

I took his hands in mine. I traced my fingers along them. They were so rough and calloused. I remembered all of the times he held me in his grip. All the times I didn’t want him to let me go.

“Just promise me you’ll keep yourself safe,” I said. “I know it comes with the territory. I know you’re always putting your neck out there. Just promise me that you won’t let anything happen to you. I can’t…”

I looked up into his eyes. My mouth half-open, the words got stuck in my throat.

Tell him…

I wanted to tell him but I couldn’t. I could see it in his eyes. Eyes as blue as the ocean but even deeper. There was a burden inside of him, in his soul. The last thing I needed to do was weigh him down any more.

“What is it?” he asked.

I closed my eyes and sighed, shaking my head to clear my thoughts.

“Be careful,” I said as I looked at him. “Just… be careful. Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise.”

His eyes locked on mine, Blake raised my hands and kissed them. We let our fingers linger in one another’s before I finally let him go. The fatigue I had was beginning to get to me.

I turned around to let him be on his way when I heard something behind me. I’d been in Ivory long enough to recognize it the moment I heard it.

I spun around and saw three bikes coming in the distance. They weren’t just any bikers though.

“Jordan… Shit…”

My brother had arrived, flanked by two Cobras. Blake joined the two Reapers and stood near his bike as my brother pulled right up to him.

The two of them eyeballed one another as Jordan walked up to me.

“What’s going on?” he said to me.

“W-what—”

“You went to the hospital. What’s wrong? What happened to you?”

“How did you know I was at the hospital?”

I narrowed my eyes at him and the two club members he’d brought with him. It only took me a second to figure it out.

“You were following me?” I said.

“I was just checking to make sure you were all right. I gave you your space.”

“You were following me?” I repeated. “Jordan, I’m not a little girl—”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re still in danger. Because of this asshole.”

He turned around and pointed right at Blake.

“Did he do something to you?” Jordan said. “Did he try to hurt you?”

“Jordan! What the hell are you doing? Blake didn’t do anything!”

“What’s he doing here? You know you shouldn’t be around him.”

“Jordan!”

My brother had gotten worked up in the blink of an eye. He rushed up to Jordan as the other club members got out of their seats. Blake and Jordan stood face to face with each other.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Jordan said.

“I was just escorting your sister home,” Blake replied. “I wanted to make sure she got home safe.”

“Safe? You being next to her just puts a target on her back! Those fucking Spades are out there and they can pull some shit at any second.”

Jordan snapped his fingers to reiterate his point. Blake stood defiantly, his jaw clenched.

I looked down and saw that both of them had balled their fists. Muscles tightened and veins bulging on their forearms, they were just seconds away from coming to blows. It didn’t help that there were four other club members just waiting to join in.

Dammit!

I had to do something.

“Jordan! Blake!”

I jumped between them before anything happened. I put a hand on their chests and pushed them away from each other. Neither of them resisted as they backed away. The tension started to die down and it seemed like I’d gotten their attention.

“Look, I’m fine, okay?” I said. “It’s no big deal. Blake just wanted to make sure I got home and I’m here. Jordan, you can go back to the clubhouse. There’s no reason for anybody to be here. Everybody just… calm down already.”

I knew they were listening to me but Blake and Jordan continued to eyeball one another. Blake eventually nodded and kept backing away with the other two Reapers.

“Stay safe, Katrina,” Blake said to me, his eyes still locked on my brother.

Blake got on his bike and revved his engine. The other two Reapers did the same.

I closed my eyes and sighed a deep breath of relief, knowing it was over.

Just as Blake was about to ride away, Jordan called out to him.

“You’re a disgrace to Ivory,” my brother shouted. “You don’t deserve to ride on these streets. That kutte is an embarrassment to this town.”

“Jordan!”

I shouted in protest. But it was too late.

Blake cut his engine off and got off of his bike.

The look in his eyes… He was an enraged bull. He was charging right at my brother. And there was no stopping him.

“Blake!”

I yelled helplessly as Blake tackled my brother to the ground. The other four club members joined in the fray.

Everybody was at each other’s throats, struggling on the pavement of the parking lot, throwing punches and trying to kill each other.

“Shit…”

I put my hands up, trying to figure out a way to stop the fracas but a single woman wouldn’t be able to stop six bikers from pulling their punches.

All I could do was watch.

Jordan punched Blake in the head like he was trying to knock him out. Blake responded with hard punches of his own.

“Jordan! Blake!”

I kept pleading desperately for them to stop but the only way this was going to end was until one of them was on the ground for good.

“Stop it!”

I finally jumped in between them when I had the chance. Blake was on top of Jordan. Both of them had their hands around each other’s collars. I forced myself between their bodies, trying and failing to stop them from throwing any more punches.

“I’m gonna kill you, motherfucker!”

“You hit like a bitch!”

I might as well have been yelling at a brick wall. I closed my eyes and used all of my strength to try and separate them.

They didn’t stop.

Not even with police sirens growing louder and louder.

“Everybody put your hands up! Now!”

I opened my eyes and stumbled to my feet. I didn’t even realize how fast they’d gotten there.

Three police cruisers had circled the brawl. Officers with guns pointed at all of us yelled instructions.

“Hands up! Now!”

I followed their instructions and backed away from the fight.

But even with cops pointing guns at them, that wasn’t enough to stop the bikers from trying to kill each other.

More sirens. More cruisers. More cops. It was like the entire Sheriff’s Department had arrived in my parking lot to end the pandemonium.

There were enough officers to finally separate the two clubs. Jordan looked at me as he was placed in cuffs. His face was scuffed with marks, his eye swollen from one of the punches he’d taken.

Blake had a cut above his eyebrow. Blood trickled down his cheek like paint. He looked at me and gave me an assuring smirk as he was shoved into the backseat of a cruiser. Even when he was getting arrested, Blake still managed to look as cocky as ever. It was his way of letting me know he was all right.

Everybody in the vicinity had come to see what was going on. The police kept everybody back as the cops hauled the bikers off.

One of the officers walked up to me with a notepad.

He was young, probably in his early 20s or so. He had brown hair that was combed neatly on the top of his head. He looked like a schoolboy. A guy like him was completely out of place in Ivory. It only made sense that he was in a uniform.

“Hello,” he greeted me with a friendly smile. “You can put your hands down.”

“What? Oh…”

I put my hands down, not realizing I had them up this entire time. I glanced down at the badge on his chest and read his name.

“Officer… Officer Rose,” I said. “You’re not going to arrest me, are you?”

“No,” he said with a chuckle. “Clubs get into brawls all the time. I’m assuming you were trying to separate them and you weren’t actually fighting… were you?”

“N-no,” I said, vigorously shaking my head. “I was trying to stop them.”

“Probably not a good idea. When these bikers throw down, the best thing to do is to let it happen and wait for the police to arrive.”

“Well… Thanks for showing up.”

“That’s why we’re on patrol. Now, just for my notes, can you tell me what happened? These bikers fight all the time but there was a reason. Do you know why?”

“I…”

It was because of me. I was stuck in the middle of two clubs. And it had finally reached its boiling point.

“Just… Just two clubs who had a disagreement. One man thought he was disrespecting the other and—”

“I get it,” Rose said, nodding his head as he scribbled on his pad. “The usual club bravado. Thanks for your time, Miss…”

“Katrina.”

“Thank you, Katrina. You should be all right.”

Officer Rose turned around to leave.

“Wait!” I said.

He spun back around and raised his eyebrows at me.

“Yes?”

“What’s going to happen to them? They’re not in trouble, are they?”

Officer Rose put his hands on hips, still giving me that friendly smile he’d been giving me this entire time.

“I’m sure they’re used to this by now,” he said. “I’m assuming you know them.”

“One of them is my brother.”

“Right… It’s okay. Whatever bad blood he might have with the other club, it’s nothing that a night in jail won’t fix. Take care now, Katrina.”

He bowed his head to me and went on his way. A truck arrived to tow all of the bikes that were still there. The cruisers all left one by one.

I made my way back to my apartment and collapsed onto my couch. I closed my eyes. I was tired but I couldn’t fall asleep.

If Jordan and Blake kept this up, they were going to kill each other. I couldn’t let that happen. But with them stuck in jail for the rest of the day, the only thing I could do was wait until I finally got the chance to talk to one of them.